Images, audio, and video often convey important information that may not be accessible to all visitors.

Meaningful alt text clarifies informative images, while captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions make audio and video content accessible. These alternatives also assist users in challenging environments or when media fails to load.

Fegan Consulting’s UX audits assess whether visual and multimedia content is understandable and usable for all visitors.

Why Meaningful Alt Text Matters

Important information should not rely on a visitor’s ability to see images or hear audio.

Alt text should explain an image’s purpose or function. Audio and video content should include captions, transcripts, or descriptions of key visual information.

For example:

• Identify a search icon as Search, not a magnifying glass.

• A product video should include accurate captions for spoken content.

• A demonstration that shows important steps visually may also need those steps described in text or audio.

Ask: Would someone miss important information or functionality if they could not see or hear this content?

Best Practices for Meaningful Alternative Text

1. Describe Important Images: Use alt text to explain the image’s meaning or purpose.

2. Skip Decorative Images: Apply an empty alt="" attribute to images that do not convey meaningful information.

3. Label Image-Based Controls Clearly: Describe the control’s action or destination, not its appearance.

4. Provide Accurate Captions: Caption prerecorded videos with spoken dialogue and important sounds. Review automatically generated captions for accuracy.

5. Provide Transcripts: Offer readable transcripts for audio and video so they can search, skim, or access content with assistive technology.

6. Describe Important Visual Action: If a video presents information visually that is not spoken, provide an audio description or descriptive transcript.

7. Make Media Controls Accessible: Ensure play, pause, volume, captions, and other controls work with keyboards and screen readers.

How Meaningful Alt Text Benefits Your Website

Accessible alternatives help more people understand your content and enhance overall usability.

• Expands Access: Provides important information to people who cannot see images or hear audio.

• Improves Content Understanding: Captions, transcripts, and clear text alternatives offer multiple ways to access information.

• Supports Mobile Use: Captions enable video viewing when sound is muted or unavailable.

• Keeps Important Actions Usable: Accessible labels clarify image-based links and controls.

• Supports Search Visibility: Alt text and transcripts provide search engines with more context about visual and multimedia content.

• Supports Accessibility Requirements: Helps meet standards for non-text and time-based media.

• Builds Trust: Inclusive content shows that all visitors can access important information independently.

A Quick Accessibility Review

Review a sample of your images, audio, and video, and consider the following questions:

• Do important images have meaningful alt text?

• Are decorative images skipped by screen readers?

• Do image-based buttons and links clearly explain what they do?

• Do videos include accurate captions?

• Are transcripts available when needed?

• Are important visual-only actions in videos also described?

• Have automatically generated captions or descriptions been reviewed?

• Can media controls be used with a keyboard or screen reader?

• Would the page still make sense if someone could not see the images or hear the media?

If several answers are unclear, some visitors may miss important information or functionality.

Next Steps

Ensure images, audio, and video are understandable for visitors who cannot see or hear them.

Fegan Consulting identifies missing alt text, inaccessible controls, inaccurate captions, missing transcripts, and other barriers that hinder the usability of visual and multimedia content.

Consider a UX audit to enhance your website’s accessibility and usability.